“We are certainly travelling a lot better than where we were this time last year. It has taken a while for things to gel but I believe we are travelling along fine and there's still some time left in the season to prove we can do it,” he said before talking about his winning Origin experience this year.

“Being a part of Origin has been an amazing experience. It's history and being a part of that history brings a smile to my face every time I think about it.”

North Queensland CEO Peter Parr also jetted into Mackay yesterday for the Mackay Cutters' mid season dinner held at Souths. He was confident the Cowboys could take home the 2009 title.

“We are very happy with our performance this season,” he said. “We have got ourselves into a position that if we play well for the second half of this season then we can compete for a finals spot.

“We currently have a strong squad and we are very confident that if we get a good run without injuries we can qualify. It's a tough competition but I think we have what it takes to be in the finals.”